ANKARA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States is seeking to impose its hegemony on global affairs and the "whole world hates America" for its activities, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has said.
Soylu, the most vocal member of the Turkish government when it comes to criticizing Washington, made the remarks during a meeting with young people on Tuesday in Istanbul, noting that the United States is losing its global credibility.
Europe has turned into America's "pawn" in Africa, Soylu was cited by Turkish daily Aydinlik as saying.
"Do not overthink Europe, there is no such thing as Europe. Europe is just a train in a convoy made by the Americans, and it's not something to be exaggerated," Soylu said.
The world has no lost love for the United States and the West, because of their efforts to impose their culture and values on others, he added.
Relations between Türkiye and the United States have been strained over several issues in recent years.
In 2020, the United States sanctioned Türkiye in response to Ankara's purchase of the Russian-made S-400 defense system.
Türkiye's decision to hold up Sweden's NATO bid is a more recent source of dispute between the two NATO allies.
In early April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said "our doors are now closed" to U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake, after the latter met with Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the Republican People's Party, who runs as presidential candidate for an alliance of opposition parties.
Given that Türkiye's presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled on May 14, "we need to teach America a lesson in these elections," Erdogan was quoted by the state-run Anadolu agency as saying.
In early February when Washington and eight European countries issued travel warnings over possible terror attacks in Türkiye, Soylu blasted Flake for portraying his country as an unstable state, telling Flake to "take his dirty hands off of Türkiye."
Soylu is an ardent critic of the United States. In the past, he blamed Washington for the 2016 military coup attempt, while the latter denied that claim. ■
